1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to distributors for spreading particulate material from a portable container, and more specifically relates to distributors that are movable with respect to the containers with which they are associated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of distributors for spreading particulate material from a container are known in the art. Such distributors have been found to be particularly advantageous for use with containers that are mountable on the body of a truck used by highway maintenance departments in spreading salt, sand, or gravel on the surface of roads that are covered by ice, or snow. To provide a defined spreading pattern that is restricted to the roadway and is sufficiently unaffected by high winds, known distributors include spreading means that are positioned below the axles of the trucks on which they are mounted. Such spreader means are exposed to road hazards and to the risk of being damaged as the trucks travel over rough terrain.
In a U.S. Pat. to Walker, No. 3,819,120, a distributor mountable by a support frame to the rear end of a truck is vertically movable with respect to the frame. However, such movement is for the sole purpose of controlling the spreading pattern of the distributor.